Hose coupling



1951 J. D. BALDWIN, JR., ETAL 2,570,421

HOSE COUPLING Filed March 6. 1948 lfl/lllllllllllllllllllllllllt IN V EN TORS Patented Oct. 9, 1951 TNT FFlCE HOSE C0UPLING John D. Baldwin, Jr., South Euclid, and Charles H. Crawley, Euclid, Ohio, assignors to The Weatherhead Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application March 6, 1948, Serial No. 13,425

4 Claims.

This invention relates to hose ends, that is, to fittings adapted to be mounted on the ends of flexible hoses to connect the hoses into a fiuid circuit, One application of the invention is to hoses for hydraulic br.ake systems, and it is so illustrated herein, but the invention is obviously capable of use generally in fluid systems.

-P rt.of the hose end into clamping engagement With the body of the hose and A still -further object is to forma hose-clamping sleeve portion of .a hose end by forming from sheetmetal.

The manner in Which these objects, as well as other objects and advantages or the invention, more or less' ancillary in nature, are realized, will be'apparent to Chose skilled in the art from the description herein of the preferrecl embodiment of the invention.

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate the preferred embodiment of the present invention applied to one type of fitting:

Fig. 1 is a side view, partly in longitudinal section, of a fitting assembled on a hose;

Fig. 2 1 a partial longitudinal section illustrating the preferred method of assembling the components or the fittin: and

Fig, 3 is a side view, partly in longitudinal section, of the sleeve portion of the hose end before assembly; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail sectional view of the engaging portions of the nipple and sleeve.

The hose end comprises a body A and a sleeve B, and is adapted for mounting on the end of a resilient hose C, which may be of any standard composition.

The form of the body is determined by the character of the fitting to which it is to be coupled, In the form illustrated, it comprises an internally-threadecl portion li, within which is a conical seat l2 designed to seal against the fiared end of a tube held against the seat by a nut engaging the threads H. A hexagonal portion [3 is providedfor the application of wrenches, and the body may be of reduced section at 14 2 between the female fitting H and the nut I3. Plats 16 may be milled or otherwise formed on opposite sides of the central portion of the body to receive a securing clip, such as shoWn in the patent t0 Baldwin, No. 1,875,209.

A nipple l7 adapted to extend into the hose C projectg axially from the body A, and a bore, l8 extending through the body provides for the passage of fiuid. Although the body may be composte, it is preferably a unitary piece of metal as shown, and may conveni ently be'machined frorn hexagonal stock.

The sleeve B is preferablydrawn from sheet metai. The sleeve as finished ready to assemble on the body is illustrated in Fig. 3, and comprises cylindrical portion 21 jointecl to an inwardly coned, or concave, end wall 22 by a curved portion 23. The end wall 22 is formed, preferably by drilling, With a straight central opening defined by an annular edge 24, preferably dimensioned f or a light press fit over the nipple ll To assemble the fitting according to the preferred method, the sleeve 21 is pushed over the nipple Il into engagement with the nut portion l3 of the body, as shown in Fig. 2. The body A is held and backed up against movement to the left, as seen in Fig. '2, in any convenient manner, and a hollow punch D is introduced over the nipple Il and within the sleev B. In the illustrated embodiment, the leading face 41 'of the punch is coned, but to a less extent than the end of the sleeve. The punch is driven against the end 22 of the sle6ve to flatten the same, decreasing the diameter of the central hole in the wall 22 and contracting the annular edge 24 whi le movihg the same axially along the nipple Il.

This action causes the annular edge 24 to shear the material of the nipple Il, producing a groove 27 in the surface of the nipple into which the edge 26 extends, and a ridge 28 formed of material sheared out to make the groove 21, and against Which the end wall 22 abuts, as illustrated in enlarged detail in Fig. 4. Thus the annular edge 24 become5 smaller in diameter than the external diameter of the adjacent portions of the nipple H, without appreciably deiorming or constricting the internal diameter of the nipple Il.

Preferably, as illustrated, the end wall 22 .is not completely flattened but remains partially coned or concave. In the specific embodiment, for example, the end wall 22 is-coned at an angle of about to the axis before assembly and is fiattened to an angle of about by the punch 13. In a specific fitting in which the external diameter .of the nipple 11 is /4 of an inch and the other parts are proportioned as shown in the drawings, this amount of flattening contracts the diameter of the annular edge 24 to about .010 of an inch less than the diameter of the nipple li. The sleeve B is thereby securely locked to the nipple Since any force tending to pull the nipple from the sleeve tends to further fiatten the end wall 22 and thereby further contract the annular edge 24. The annular edge 24 cannot slide along the nipple since it is seated or imbedded in the groove 21 and is smaller in diameter than the adjacent surface of the nipple. The ridge 28 resists movement of the end wall 22 in the opposite direction.

The securing of the sleeve on the nipple completes the fitting, and it is ready to be secured to the hose C, the final assembly being illustrated in Fig. 1. The end of the hose is slipped over the nipple H and into the annular space defined by the nipple and the sleeve B, bottoming against the end wall 22 of the sleeve. The sleeve is then reduced in diameter to compress the hose between the sleeve and. nipple. This is preferably accomplished by a crimping operation, which may be performed by machines such as that disclosed in the Patent t Hunziker No. 2,211,622. The crimped and compressed portion of the sleeve is indicated at 26 in Fig. 1.

It will be noted that both the seating of the sleeve against the face of the nut l3, or other abutment means, and the insertion of the punch D between the sleeve and nip le insure accurate alignment of the sleeve on the nipple.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the fitting of this invention is highly advantageous in that no difficult or expensive operations are required in its production. The machining operations on the body are simple and can be substantially completed on an automatic screw machine, the sleeve can be formed on a drawing press, and the assembly of these two parts is completed by a simple rapid single operation. The assembly of the hose with the hose end is facilitated by the fact that the two parts of the hose end are firmly secured together before assembly With the hose. Similarly, the invention is adaptable to hoses and fittings of all sizes and types since it is not necessary to expand or otherwise' operate on the nipple after it has been assembled in the hose.

The application of the sleeve B of the type disclosed herein does not require the presence of a shoulder on the body such as the face of the nut l3, since the end wall 22 is held against movement toward the body by the ridge 28. The sleeve may be fixed at an intermediate position upon the nipple or an equivalent section of tubing, in which case the operation of assembling the sleeve on the tubing may be performed between a die such as D in Fig. 2 and an opposing die or anvil in the preferred embodiment as illustrated which fits over the tubing. or nipple. The presence of the shoulder is advantageous, however, since it strengthens the fitting by eliminating any chance of loosening the sleeve by a force acting in the direction from the free end of the sleeve to the closed end.

' It will be understood that the invention is not limited in its broader aspects to the degree of fiattening of the end wall 22 or to the forming of the annular edge 24 of the hole in the end wall 22 so as to have a light press fit over the nipple l1 before the sleeve is locked in place. The relative diameter of the external surface of the nipple and the hole in the end wall 22 and the amount of contraction of the annular edge 24 by the flattening of the end wall may be varied to secure any desired gripping force and shearing action between the sleeve and the nipple. Similarly, the shearing action of the annular edge 24 into the surface of the nipple is not necessarily accompanied by axial movement of the edge 24 with respect to the nipple as in the preferred embodiment. The portion of the nipple l1 which engages the interior of the hose C or the inner surface of the sleeve which engages the hose, or both, may, of course, be roughened or otherwise suitably formed to increase the frictional engagement with the hose as disclosed for example in the patents to Weatherhead, 2,008,650 and 2,133,3 3 or the patents to Hunziker, 2,311,662 and 2,311,663.

Many other modifications and re-arrangements of the parts may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A hose coupling comprising a nipple having a free end and a sleeve fixed on and surrounding the free end of the nipple, said sleeve and nipple defining an annular pocket for reception of a hose, said sleeve comprising a circumferentiallycontinuons tubular portion and an inwardly-directed fiange extending from one end thereof, said fiangehaving a radially inner portion inclined toward the other end of said tubular portien, said fiange having its inner edge in compressive engagement with said nipple, the inner edge of said fiange being disposed in a groove in said nipple formed by forcing said fiange longitudinally along said nipple with the fiange in engagement With the nipple to increase the angle of inclination of said inclined fiange portion relative to the axis of said tubular portion of the sleeve and thereby providing a toggle action between said fiange and said nipple, said groove being bounded by a ridge of material sheared up by said fiange and engaged thereby, said continuons sleeve portion restraining said fiange against radial expansion, relative motion of said sleeve and said nipple tending to slip said sleeve over the free end of said nipple increasing the compressive engagement of said fiange and nipple.

2. A hose*coupling comprising a body member having a radial shoulder from which extends a nipple having a free end, a sleeve fixed on and surrounding the nipple, said sleeve and nipple defining an annular pocket for reception of a hose, said sleeve comprising a circumfierentiallycontinuons tubular portion and a radially inwardly-directed substantially frusto conical, circumferentially continuous fiange extending from one end thereof, said fiange being incliend toward the other end of said tubular portion, said fiange having its inner edge in compressive engagement With said nipple, the inner edge of said fiange being disposed in a groove in said nipple formed by forcing said fiange longitudinally along said nipple With the fiange in engagement with the nipple to increase the angle of inclination of said inclined fiange portion relative to the axis of said tubular portion of the sleeve and thereby providing a toggle action between said fiange and said nipple, said groove being bounded by a ridge of material sheared up by said fiange and engaged thereby, said continuons sleeve portion restraining said fiange against radial expansion, relative motion of said sleeve and said nipple tending to slip said sleeve over the free end of said nipple increasing the compressive engagement of said fiange and nipple, the radially outer portion of said fiange being in compressive engagement with said body shoulder.

3. A hose coupling comprising a nipple having a free end and a sleeve fixed on and surrounding the free end of the nipple, said sleeve and nipple defining an annular pocket for reception of a hose, said sleeve comprising a circumferentially-continuous tubular portion and a radially inwardly-directed substantially fruste conica1, circumferentially continuons fiange extending from one end thereof, said flange being inclified relative to the axis of said tubular portion toward the other end of said tubular portion, said fiange having its inner edge in com pressive engagement with said nipple, the inner edge of said flange being disposed in a groove in said nipple formed by forcing said flange longitudinally along said nipple with the fiange in engagement with the nipple to increase the angle of inclination of said inclined fiange portion relative to the axis of said tubular portion of the sleeve and thereby providing a toggle action between said flange and said nipple, said relative angle of inclination of said fiange after deformatien thereof exceeding 45, said groove being bounded by a ridge of material sheared up by said flange and engaged thereby, said continuous sleeve portion restraining said fiange against radial expansion, relative motion of said sleeve and said nipple tending to slip over said seleeve over the free end of said nipple increasing the compressive engagement of said fiange and nipple.

4. A hose coupling comprising a nipple having a. free end and a sleeve fixed on and surrounding the free end of the nipple, said sleeve and nipple defining an annular pocket for reception of a hose, said sleeve comprising a circumferentially-continuous tubular portion and a radially inwardly-directed substantially fruste conial, circumferentially continuons fiange extend- 6 ing from one end thereof, said fiange being inclined toward the other end of said tubular portion, said fiange having its inner edge in compressive engagement with said nipple, the inner edge of said fiange being disposed in a groove in said nipple formed by forcing said fiange longitudinally along said nipple with the flange in engagement with the nipple to increase the angle of inclination of said inclined flange portion relative to the axis of said tubular portion of the sleeve and thereby providing a toggle action between said flange and said nipple, said groove being bounded by a ridge of material sheared up by said flange and engaged thereby, said continuous sleeve portion restraining said fiange against radial expansion, relative motion of said sleeve and said nipple tendin to slip said sleeve over the free end of said nipple increasing the compressive engagement of said fiange and nipple, and a hose of flexible material having its end disposed in said pocket.

JOHN D. BALDWIN, JR. CHARLES H. CRAWLEY.

REFERENCES CIIED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,109,042 Clafiin Sept. 1, 1914 1,179,552 Nelson Apr. 18, 1916 1,265,709 Dies May 7, 1918 1,951,860 Cowles Mar. 20, 1934 1,965,426 Nelson July 3, 1934 2,090,251 Cowles Aug. 17, 1937 2,142,752 Howard Jan. 3, 1939 2,181,673 Tompkins Nov. 28, 1939 2,209,181 Wendel July 23, 1940 2,216,838 Hofiman Oct. 8, 1940 2,230,116 Kreidel Jan. 28, 1941 2,314,000 Lusher Mar. 16, 1943 

